Erik ten Hag has reacted to Manchester United’s crucial Champions League victory over Copenhagen this evening.
The Red Devils claimed their first three points in Europe this season to boost their chances of progressing to the next stage of the competition – but it didn’t come easy.
It was a tightly contested clash between the two sides, with both equally as desperate to take the points on the night. Copenhagen provided significantly more threat than United likely expected but couldn’t find the end product, even after hitting the woodwork early on.
Harry Maguire became the man of the moment when he headed home in the 72nd minute to give the Reds the lead, though attention then turned to Andre Onana when he stopped an injury-time penalty to seal the win.
Ten Hag reflects
Post-match, Ten Hag could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He gave his verdict to TNT Sports, saying: “Incredible. It’s great, a great night. Especially in the last dying seconds, you concede a penalty – should not happen – but then a great save, brilliant save from Andre.
“Slowly, we’ve found our form in the season and those players, I think Harry Maguire again played a very good game. Andre as well, he had an also very brilliant save just after half time. It was a very important save as well.”
After claiming that United should’ve been given a spot-kick for a foul on Marcus Rashford, which was deemed offside for the officials, Ten Hag added: “No, it was not [offside]. We asked him [and] it was onside but he didn’t give [a] penalty on the foul. But finally, we dealt with it and I think that is a step up from a few weeks ago where got out of rhythm when we got setbacks from referee decisions. We stayed calm and also after, I would say, a poor first half, we stayed calm and second half, we stepped up.
“I think all over we created more chances than them. The win is justified, but it was a narrow escape in the end!”
"The win is justified, but it was a narrow escape in the end!"
Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag reacts to a wild #UCL night at Old Trafford 😅 pic.twitter.com/iYdzX8r1Ta
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 24, 2023
Footage courtesy of TNT Sports.
